NowRx News

NowRx will allow you to order prescriptions on Alexa  9:01 AM ET Sat, 14 Oct 2017 | 01:16NowRx wants to make standing in line at the pharmacy a thing of the past.

This month, its users will have the option to order prescription medications via a virtual home assistant, such as the Amazon Echo or Google Home. A robot then registers to the request and dispenses the medication within minutes, and a car will deliver it within hours.

The Silicon Valley start-up claims that this is the first voice application for medication ordering.

A mobile healthcare company whose app helps consumers expedite prescription refills and delivery has raised $2 million in new funding. NowRx, which calls itself an on-demand pharmacy and is based in Mountain View, Calif., will use the money to further automate its prescription fulfillment program and develop more analytics for drug utilization review, a process for reviewing, prescribing, dispensing and using medication.

A wave of pharmacy startups in the Bay Area are trying to replace the hassle of waiting in a line at the drugstore with the ease of just opening the front door to get a prescription. These new companies offer everything from on-demand delivery or 24-hour access to pharmacists to smartphone apps designed to make sure patients take their medications.

There's no shortage of start-ups offering quick, same-day delivery for groceries and other goods, so it's no surprise that some Bay Area companies are eying pharmaceutical deliveries as a new growth industry.